Herescope

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Divorcing Baal for Dominion

Part 2: Divorcing Baal

By Dr. Orrel Steinkamp

In 1967, 100,000 young people, ages 15-25, flocked to San Francisco to experience the hippie movement.... This counterculture rebellion was fueled by music and art, and it rapidly shifted global culture.

A great divorce from God and His ways of kindness occurred in this turbulent time....

Renewing Our Vows to The Lord

On the 40th-year anniversary of the "Summer of Love" that occurred in 1967 (really a summer of divorce), we are calling multi-generations to Nashville, Tennessee. We are calling you on 07-07-07--the number of covenant renewal, marriage, and the fullness of time--for a day of national repentance, fasting, and prayer for our 40-year generational rebellion. We are calling elders, pastors, mothers, fathers, college students, children, every race, every denomination, and every age to come and divorce Baal, and remarry the Lord.-Lou Engle, TheCall[1]

John Benefiel, one of the key endorsers of Texas Governor Rick Perry's The Response prayer event scheduled for August 6, and a high-ranking apostle in C. Peter Wagner's New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), has been overseeing an amazing series of pseudo-legal documents in which the "The Highest Court of the Kingdom of God" issues America the nation a divorce decree from ancient god Baal. Included in this process are a set of "declarations" that represent the "Citizens of the Kingdom and Citizens of This Nation" as Plaintiffs and gives these plaintiffs the legal right to take Dominion over America NOW.

Dr. John Benefiel is no small potatoes. He heads up the Oklahoma Apostolic Prayer Network (OAPN) and the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (HAPN), both of which are directly connected to the NAR, complete with their own downline networks. The agenda of the HAPN is spelled out as working on building the 7 mountains for Dominionism.[2] Benefiel is a leader in a number of exclusive national and international apostolic networks, including the Eagles Vision Apostolic Team (EVAT), which includes C. Peter Wagner, Lance Wallnau (of 7 mountains fame), Chuck Pierce, Cindy Jacobs, Bill Hamon, Dutch Sheets, Ed Silvoso, Che' Ahn, and others, some of whom show up at key endorsers for The Response prayer rally.[3]

According to a report posted at Georgia's Kairos Transformation Network website, "Reformation Day Strategic Prayer Initiative: Dismantling the Power Grid," God supposedly "exposed the spirit of Baal as one of the strongmen--perhaps the strongman - over America" on January 4-7, 2007, at Chuck Pierce's ‘Starting the Year off Right Conference’"[4] held in Denton, Texas.[5] This "Divorcing Baal" agenda was said to be launched at a 07/07/07 meeting of Lou Engle's TheCall, (see quotation above and also heading the previous Herescope post). Since that time, the report says, "John Benefiel [and] Jay Swallow... are helping the states 'divorce Baal' state to state... and this is what Chuck Pierce said had to be done now." This activity has been going on state-by-state.

Lou Engle of TheCall and IHOP (whose leadership is also heavily involved in The Response prayer Rally) suggested that this Spiritual Warfare against Baal was necessary because the "Church and the nation are in a crisis!" He proposed his 07-07-07 TheCall rally in Nashville as the place to "respond in repentance" to release a "revival" that could "draw us back into marital faithfulness with our Bridegroom, God" in order to "overthrow Jezebel's death-march in this nation" before the elections of 2008. Engle tied his 07-07-07 rally to a 1993 prophecy by Bob Jones ("Kansas City Prophets") about a mobilization of Joel's Army and the New Breed.

In 1993, Bob Jones prophesied, "The Houston Oilers would move to Nashville, and Nashville would build God a stadium. And 100,000 people, particularly youth, would gather for a great mobilization of the army of God." With this prophecy in effect, I was praying about holding The Call in Titan Stadium in Nashville on 07-07-07.[6]These pseudo-legal documents contain a "DECREE OF DIVORCE" in which it is alleged that America ("The People of God," listed as the Plaintiff, which is a mixture of Church and State) were deceived by the "lies and deceit of the Defendant" ("Baal"), and claims that the "The Highest Court of the Kingdom of God" finds that "all offspring of the marriage have been stillborn... destroyed... or... infected by sickness" so "that no life remained in them." This is an allusion to abortion. (Note that it also blames Baal for lying and deceiving, instead of acknowledging mankind's fallen nature, original sin, and the need for redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross.)

The "PLAINTIFF'S DECREE" claims that "we are rightful heirs to the Great Transfer of Wealth to the Church," which mixes in the false prosperity gospel with Dominionism -- a volatile combination. In other words, once the American Church/State (as exemplified by the NAR) divorces Baal, she will become rich. This alludes to the much-prophesied latter-day "great transference of wealth" that the NAR has hinged all of their hopes upon. How will the "Plaintiffs" become rich? By plundering and stealing in the name of Dominionism from any "extensions and manifestations of the Principality of Baal, however named or designated, known or hidden." The "WRIT OF ASSISTANCE" spells this out:

"this Court finds the wealth accumulated by those following the Defendant’s [Baal's] practices lawfully belong to the Plaintiffs [America]...."

"the Plaintiffs alone receive the “treasures of darkness and the hidden wealth of secret places.”

"Giving The People of God this day power to gain wealth to confirm this Court’s covenant to their fathers."

Ordering that all those empowered by this Court to enforce its rulings and proclamations forthwith grant full assistance in the transfer of all wealth, possessions, properties, and gifts belonging to the Plaintiffs [NAR America] as The People of God, to employ the Power and Might of this Highest Court to perform this Word, calling into obedience all enforcement authorities to continue in this transfer until it is fully completed...."

"to authorize the carrying off of all property in his possession or delegated under him to any part of his principality or in any way related to him, and to plunder his house."[7]

This incredible piece of pseudo-legal inventiveness means that these "People of God" believe that they now have a legal right from heaven to begin to steal, kill and destroy anything they define as "Baal" here on earth, starting with America. This plundering could enforced upon individuals, organizations, churches, ministries, political groups, advocacy groups, governmental structures, etc. These NAR leaders are reserving the power to define "Baal" wherever they think they spot it, including "the religious spirit" that "perverts worship into false practices and lifeless rituals" (meaning Christian orthodoxy).[8] "Baal" thus becomes a nebulous spiritual enemy that is recognizable only to NAR leaders -- a recipe for disaster.

In their "DECLARATION OF LIGHT" these NAR leaders have gone so far as to "declare illegal in the earth any action of any people, Nation or nations that undertake what is contradictory to the Word of God" and "judge that no religion, society or group" that doesn't follow their formula for equality "must fall." Furthering the Dominionist agenda, this declaration also says that the Plaintiff must "restore and claim back for the Kingdom of God every high place, structure, or Nation that is redeemable." Of course, they don't define "redeemable."

The series of phoney legal documents culminates in a "ORDER AND DECLARATION" from the "Court" of heaven which orders them to begin Dominion:

"That judgment be granted against the Defendants ["Baal"], and all acting in consort with them, from carrying out any ploy, scheme, or device however devised or employed that commits the wrongs cited by the Plaintiffs [NAR America]."

"That all powers and authorities subject to enforcing the rulings of this Court be and hereby are authorized to execute this Order, and all such orders necessary to fulfill the intended purpose of this ruling."

Dutch Sheets, in a corollary document explains the aberrant theological justification for going after Baal, says that "Chuck Pierce believes, and I agree, that this is the principality warring against the great transfer of wealth to the church. You must war against this spirit to see your inheritance released."

He further says that "Baal is the strongman behind sexual perversion" and that homosexuality "is one of his strongholds." He doesn't acknowledge man's sin nature since the Fall. He also blames "Baal" for abortion that is killing off the New Breed:

Baal always goes after the next generation, trying to cut off the extension of God's covenantal purposes. He is a violent spirit and even required human sacrifice. Abortion is under Baal, as is the "cutting" of today's young generation (see 1 Kings 18:28), the vampire and goth movement, and the death culture in general that has so invaded America. Baal is leading the fight to avert the great awakening planned for the young generation of Americans today.[9]To prove that "divorcing Baal" produces wonderful outcomes, John Benefiel's Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (HAPN) claims responsibility for every positive economic and political development in the state of Oklahoma since they performed this legal procedure. See "Signs of Transformation" in Oklahoma City as a result of divorcing Baal" for the wealthy details.

One must wonder what God thinks about these legal issuances that are supposedly coming from "The Supreme Judge" in "The Highest Court of the Kingdom of God."To be continued. . . .

The Truth:

Christ has defeated Satan and his minions (by whatever name) at the Cross by His shed blood and resurrection. This shed blood covers our sins. And it is only the shed blood of Jesus that will redeem an individual person from a life of sin. And the only way to "redeem" individual citizens in America the nation is by individual believers in the Church freely sharing the Gospel message -- living the Gospel of Salvation and preaching the Gospel of Salvation -- not through the domination of Dominion, not by Spiritual Warfare magic, not by "divorcing Baal," not by filled stadiums, not through concocting phoney legal documents.

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2:14-15)

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Divorcing Baal

Part 1: Divorce and Remarriage, Political Dominion Style

By Dr. Orrel Steinkamp

"I believe we're headed to an Elijah/Jezebel showdown on the Earth, not just in America but all over the globe, and the main warriors will be the prophets of Baal versus the prophets of God, and there will be no middle ground...."

"There's an Elijah generation that's going to be the forerunners for the coming of Jesus, a generation marked not by their niceness but by the intensity of their passion.... The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Such force demands an equal response, and Jesus is going to make war on everything that hinders love, with his eyes blazing fire."-Lou Engle, IHOP, March 2008[1]

07-07-07Four years ago this Wednesday, at the Call Nashville on 07-07-07, the Spirit-breathed focus on divorcing Baal and resetting covenant with Christ was introduced across the body of Christ. Dutch Sheets shared how the number seven biblically symbolizes covenant. And that the Lord wanted us to divorce Baal and return to covenant with Jesus Christ.The Call became a catalyst for all that was to come as we all declared our intentions for divorce. Progressive revelation from the Lord showed that, though we stated our case before God’s court, we also needed to actually receive His verdict for the divorce to be legally binding.Eighteen months ago, almost to the day, leaders from all 50 states gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to begin the process of divorcing Baal in Washington DC and at lodges across the nation. Led by Apostle John Benefiel, we stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and together received God’s verdict of justice. Through the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the verdict of divorce was granted!Resetting CovenantSo on July 4, we ended this phase of nationally facilitating the divorcement of Baal right where we began. John Benefiel led us in receiving a Throne Room verdict of divorce from our idolatry, including the issuance of a “Writ of Assistance” to enforce the Court’s ruling. Apostle Negiel Bigpond led us in a Native American spiritual, first sung on the trail of tears, telling us to “always look forward, never look back.”Then leaders from our 11-11 Campaign teams then presented together the Declaration of Covenant as a legal petition for God to marry our land again, releasing awakening and union.[2]

Some of the leaders of Texas Governor Rick Perry's The Response prayer rally are busily involved in divorcing America from the ancient god Baal and writing a new covenant for our country.

How did things get to this point, where such preposterous Spiritual Warfare tactics have become associated with a potential presidential bid? As stated in the previous article posted at Herescope, "Prayer Warfare Evangelism," Spiritual Warfare techniques dreamed up by C. Peter Wagner and his clones are only Christian copies of shamanistic practices. The intended result is that the Gospel message of Jesus and the original apostles is not only compromised, sidelined, distorted, but finally neglected. Wagner's introduction of Spiritual Warfare turns out to have nothing to do with the preaching of the cross and individual salvation - but everything to do with promoting theocratic Dominionism.

But it is the Gospel of the cross that is effective in dealing with demons. It is only the message of the cross the demons recognize and fear. Gospel preaching is God's only weapon against demonic control. The preaching of the cross was itself the power (dunamis, Gk. dynamite) of God unto salvation. Active spiritual warfare in apostolic times was only an infrequent mopping of demon forces which had already been rendered powerless by the cross. Surely demons who know they are on borrowed time must gain some comfort and laugh at Christians trying to use their own powerless weapons like Wagner's "strategic-level spiritual warfare" weapons against them.

This strategic prayer warfare is connected to the Dominion Mandate. Wagner has explained that "[p]rinciples of strategic-level spiritual warfare need to be employed to clear the way for God's kingdom."[3] This lays the groundwork for taking control of territories: "Strategic-level spiritual warfare undertakes confronting the high-ranking principalities and powers that wield ungodly control over territories such as cities or nations or people groups or other social networks."[4] This territory prayer claims the 7 mountains for Dominionism. As I have written previously,

Wagner, more than anyone else, is responsible for creating the idioms and symbols of modern military terminology and nomenclature for spiritual warfare evangelism.

In the continuum developed at Wagner's International Spiritual Warfare Network, spiritual warfare is distinguished according to the nature and rank of the demonic beings confronted. Ground level spiritual warfare refers to personal deliverance ministry. Occult level spiritual warfare is related to occult witchcraft and Satanism. Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare (SLSW) takes place in the heavenlies as the real significant action against the stronger principalities and powers. Wagner asserts:

God, I think, is in the process of choosing an expanding corps of spiritual green berets such as Eduardo Lorenzo, Cindy Jacobs, Larry Lee Carlos Anaconda, John Dawson, Edward Salvoso or Dick Bernal, who will engage in the crucial high level battles against the rulers of darkness and consequently see measurable increases in the numbers of lost people who turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.

Spiritual warfare evangelism coupled with another Latter Rain theme of restored Apostles and Prophets is, in Wagner's view, reforming the global church for the new millennium.[5]

Wagner's Spiritual Warfare teaching has been around long enough that it has supplanted the clear teaching of the New Testament Apostles' Gospel of the cross of Jesus Christ to save sinners. Wagner's own teaching is reflected in a recent quote from Cindy Jacobs, one of his top deputies in the New Apostolic Reformation, who wrote in Charisma magazine that the Japanese emperor caused the tsunami because he had sex with a sun goddess:

I personally have felt that one reason Japan was such a hard group for the gospel was the fact that they have had a direct link with the Imperial family and a direct link with the sun goddess, Amaterasu....

[I]n recent years this link with Amaterasu and sun worship was reinstated in a ceremony in which the new Emperor once again participated and "spent the night with the goddess" after eating the sacred rice.

I believe this is one major reason Japan has gone downhill economically in such a drastic way. The debt ratio to GDP is now 200 percent. With the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, the economy and banking systems and the insurance industry, and others, will certainly take a massive hit.[6]

Cindy Jacobs is listed as an endorser for Governor Perry's The Response. C. Peter Wagner, ex-endorser, agrees with her. You can watch him on Rachel Maddow's program posted on YouTube.[7] Even if this preposterous statement were actually true, how would they know? What does this have do it with the Gospel? This kind of wild spiritual speculating only takes people's focus off the preaching of the Gospel.

Over many years of strenuous imagination, the Dominionist mind has proven to bevery creative and has brought us outlandish examples of Spiritual Warfare dominion magic. Steve Schultz of The Elijah List, a major newsletter for the NAR, marketed a land cleansing kit in the Oct 17, 2005 issue of The Elijah List which read "HOW to CLEANSE YOUR HOUSE and the LAND IT SITS ON" along with an advertisement for a book by Henry Malone called Portals To Cleansing - Taking Back Your Land From The Hands Of The Enemy. This included a Property Dedication Kit with "instructions, scriptures, oil and stakes to dedicate your property to the Lord." Trouble is Schultz had to repeat the procedure four times for it to work for his house.[8] It won't work no matter how many times you do it. Ted Haggard, an early apostle of the NAR (who was C. Peter Wagner's pastor), and his New Life Church did something similar in Colorado Springs.[9]

Renee Rodriguez spent a number of years in Haggard's New Life church and describes one of the ways the New Lifers have implemented the Apostolic vision. She describes how they filled 5-gallon spray cans with anointing oil and attempted to spray the whole city.[10]

In Ted Haggard’s book, Primary Purpose, published in 1995, it is said that the spiritual climate in your city can be changed to such an extent that it will be "hard for people to go to hell from your city ... It happened in Colorado Springs, and it can happen in your city too."[11]

These Spiritual Warfare tactics don't work because employing demonic type magic to fight demons is not God's way. Thus these techniques are powerless. Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection alone defeated these demons. The Apostle Paul in Colossians 2:15 wrote: "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." This means that having disarmed principalities and powers Jesus made a public show (like a Roman parade) of them, triumphing over them - and in context of this Bible passage this means the cross. This word picture portrays the demonic rulers as dejected and defeated foes, similar to captives in a Roman general' s triumphant march through the streets of Rome.

Spiritual Warfare magic is a return to crass Christian paganism and pre-Reformation superstition. It is an enemy both to preaching the Gospel to animistic peoples in shamanistic societies and to Roman magic. Pre-Reformation religious magic and superstition drained medieval Christianity of the Gospel message till Luther confronted it. And now we are to return to this superstition? And Wagner and his buddies call this a Second Reformation?[12]

Wagner even suggests we learn from pagan shamans about the spirit world. He wrote in his book Confronting the Powers that

...I suggest that it may be possible to receive selected, but valid, information from the world of darkness itself. I am careful to stress strongly that discernment is needed while attempting to do this because evil spirits are by nature deceivers and they must be treated as hostile witnesses. Nevertheless, certain people such as shamans, witch doctors, practitioners of Eastern religions, New Age gurus or professors of the occult on university faculties are examples of the kind of people who may have much more extensive knowledge of the spirit world than most Christians have. Some of the information they furnish is accurate. Many of them are not only intelligent, but they are also sincere people of integrity. Particularly former occult practitioners who have been converted to Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit can reveal valuable things about the spirit world that may not have been recorded by the biblical writers.[13]

Sandy Simpson of the Deception in the Church ministry has explained the damage that can be done by such false teachings and weird practices:

All these unbiblical occultic methods are simply making the problem of demonism worse. In Honolulu the Transformations people walked through the streets of Chinatown with a black cross and black casket, declaring the demons begone into the air. This was not only a bad witness for the Christian community, I believe it is giving the demons a foothold to further deceive. Did they think they were burying the demons in the casket? The enemy was laughing at them that day, and true believers need to stay far away from this kind of "transformation". They rant and rave against principalities when the Bible clearly states:

Jude 8-10 In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals— these are the very things that destroy them.[14]

Conclusion

Mainstream evangelicals have been co-opted by the New Apostolic Reformation. The NAR elite are now acting as spokespersons for Christians in America. The current false Spiritual Warfare movement promoters and leadership includes people like John Dawson, Loren Cunningham, C. Peter Wagner, Cindy Jacobs, Ed Silvoso, Dutch Sheets, Chuck Pierce, organizations like IHOP, and the far reaching tentacles of the NAR. These are the very same type of people who are organizing and promoting Gov. Perry's huge national political and prayer meeting The Response in Houston in early August. As of this blog post publishing, the list of honorary co-chairs, leaders, and endorsers on http://theresponseusa.com/honorary-co-chairs.php still includes NAR apostolic generals such as Cindy Jacobs, Mike Bickle, Che Ahn, John Benefiel (who is busy divorcing Baal), and many other leaders with long-standing close ties to C. Peter Wagner and his minions.

They have plans for America. And Americans might be shocked to learn what they are up to next. . . .

Endnotes:1. This quote from Lou Engle in March 2008 is transcribed and posted at "Joel's Army and The Call," 8/28/08, http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/joels-army-and-call. Emphasis added. The context of the quote is explained as: "This March, at a 'Passion for Jesus' conference in Kansas City sponsored by the International House of Prayer, or IHOP, a ministry for teenagers from the heavy metal, punk and goth scenes, Engle called on his audience for vengeance.... He was referring to the Baal of the Old Testament, a pagan idol whose followers were slaughtered under orders from the prophet Elijah."2. Report by Jon & Jolene Hamill, "Declaration of Covenant--update!" [emphasis added] sent out by Jacquie Tyre on July 9, 2011, to the Kairos Transformation & Georgia Prayer Network, report currently posted at http://www.facebook.com/notes/carolina-strategic-prayer-alliance/1111-campaign-declaration-of-covenant-update/10150319533668132?ref=nf 3. C. Peter Wagner, Confronting the Powers (Regal, 1996), p. 30.4. C. Peter Wagner, The Queen's Domain: Advanging God's Kingdom in the 40/70 Window (Wagner Publications, 2000), p. 12. This book chronicles several examples of spiritual expeditions to dismantle principalities, such as "Operation Ice Castle" in 1997, which has now been totally discredited by some excellent research by Mike Oppenheimer at http://www.letusreason.org/DVDeverest.htm and http://herescope.blogspot.com/2010/12/spiritual-warfarers-battle-real.html) and "Operation Queen's Palace" which supposedly confronted the "Queen of Heaven" in Turkey in 1997-99.5. Dr. Orrel Steinkamp, "The Technology Of Spiritual Warfare Evangelism," The Plumbline, Vol. 7, No. 1, http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/orrel9.html quoting from C. Peter Wagner Warfare Prayer, (Regal Books, 1992), p. 58.6. Cindy Jacobs, "A Perspective on the Japan Earthquake," Charisma, 5/24/22, http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/prophetic-insight/30517-a-perspective-on-the-japan-earthquake-7. Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WtJz_wj1JU "WACKOs @ Rick Perry "Day of Prayer" Aug. 6 - Rachel Maddow" at about the 7 minute mark. This whole analysis is very disturbing. Note how the message of the Gospel has been totally lost and the degradation of the Christian walk and testimony.8. This whole episode, complete with graphic illustrations, is published online in an article by Sandy Simpson "Three Fallacies of Third Wave Spiritual Warfare," 10/19/05, at http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/threefallacies.html9. Haggard, who was head of the National Association of Evangelicals before his fall into sin, began prayer journeys around Colorado Springs as part of his Christian Information Network. Spiritual Mapping data was provided by George Otis, Jr. who is recorded by C. Peter Wagner as saying, "We must find a way to lift the enchantment of the enemy over the hearts and minds of resident people groups. Accomplishing this task-which the Bible defines as binding the strongman...--requires both an accurate identification of our spiritual competition and the faith and commitment to persevere in prayer." C. Peter Wagner, Churches that Pray (Regal Books, 1993), p. 217. Haggard's book on the topic of prayer dominion is titled Primary Purpose: Making it hard for people to go to hell from your city (Creation House, 1995).10. Reported on at "Three Fallacies of Third Wave Spiritual Warfare," 10/19/05, at http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/threefallacies.html citing http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/haggardelected.html 11. Ibid, citing Charisma Book Warehouse, http://cbw.strang.com/c.cgi?ProdID=3810&Source=INTNET [broken link]. Obviously it didn't work on Haggard, for the anointed water was powerless to impede his homosexual urges.12. C. Peter Wagner refers extensively to Lyle Schaller in his book Churchquake! which launched his New Apostolic Reformation. Schaller held an August 1994 Leadership Network summit meeting on the topic of "The Future of Denominations" and wrote a book called The New Reformation, which was the paradigm upon which Wagner founded his postdenominationalism movement, which he later called The New Apostolic Reformation. The term "Second Reformation" was popularized by Robert Schuller and was adopted by Rick Warren. See C. Peter Wagner, Churchquake! How the New Apostolic Reformation Is Shaking Up the Church As We Know It (Regal Books, 1999). p. 28-29 and Sarah Leslie, "The Global Day of Prayer," Discernment Newsletter, May/June 2005, http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL2005MayJun.pdf and "THE SECOND REFORMATION: The Global Day of Prayer: Part 2," Discernment Newsletter, July/August 2005, at http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL2005JulAug.pdf13. Confronting the Powers, pp. 147-8.14. "Three Fallacies of Third Wave Spiritual Warfare," 10/19/05, http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/threefallacies.html

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Prayer Warfare Evangelism

The New Order Prayer Cover

"God is gonna have His new order literally, they gonna inherit the earth and God will give them that platform, except He's goin' to endorse them with signs and wonders and wisdom. God's raising up mature sons and daughters that will really inherit the earth with wisdom and affect the entire order of society in the future, in government, in politics, and billions of dollars of finances...."- Mike Bickle[1]

Dominionist leader C. Peter Wagner's name has suddenly been pulled from the list of endorsers[3] for Texas Governor Rick Perry's controversial The Responseprayer rally scheduled for August 6th (see the previous four Herescope posts). The Response website has changed continually since the first controversy first broke, and there has been lots of spin and damage control[4] going on. The original "Endorsers" webpage remained up for a period of time, even though it wasn't linked to from the main webpage. Finally it was pulled entirely and a new webpage "Honorary Co-Chairs" has been posted, which includes the list of "Endorsers," sans Wagner. But Cindy Jacobs is still on the list.

The issue here is not prayer per se. The issue is what kind of prayer and its purpose. Many governors and political leaders over the years have had all sorts of prayer breakfasts and events -- typically they are sappy ecumenical affairs that provide politicians and an opportunity to act "religious" for votes. But The Response prayer rally is different because of the personnel involved. The leadership includes people who have a significant and controversial agenda: building a kingdom under the guise of American patriotism.

This type of prayer is not about evangelism. It is about Dominionism. This movement has been going on for decades now, but it gained momentum and popularity under the auspices of C. Peter Wagner, who first articulated this agenda in numerous books on the topic. Wagner, formerly a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, began to experiment with novel forms of worship, including prayer, in the 1980s. Wagner says that his idea about prayer began to change when he was exposed to Paul Cain in 1988 and Cindy Jacobs in 1989.[5]Paul Cain was a father figure in the "Kansas City Prophets" which formed the IHOP (International House of Prayer) movement. Cindy Jacobs has since become one of Wagner's chief lieutenants in the global Dominion movement, particularly through the vehicle of prayer.

Prayer began to become a method for Dominionism during the 1980s. Al Dager wrote about this change in his 1990 book Vengeance Is Ours: The Church in Dominion, explaining that it was fast becoming a method of "teaching the people how to take dominion over their cities," and "how to bind spirits." Various new doctrines were concocted during this time period, including the idea of "waging spiritual evil territorial spirits that allegedly keep cities, states and nations under spiritual bondage. These spirits are believed to be responsible for all the evils that plague civilization, from illicit drugs to abortion, to satanic rituals, to organized crime."(Dager, p. 123-3)

Spiritual warfare teachings and methods became very effective at supplanting the Gospel of salvation. The basic sinful nature of man was no longer the issue. Suddenly there was a new enemy -- outside! An enemy so fierce and unrelenting that it must be continually bound, cast down, overthrown, and warred against. A dreadful demonic enemy that was railing at the gates and threatening to break down cities to steal your children, let homosexuals loose, and destroy America.

Prayer warfare substituted for the old-fashioned biblical concept of simply sharing of the Gospel to the lost. Huge rallies began to be held, prayer marches, and round-the-clock vigils that claimed to keep Satan and his minions at bay. It became a new way to fight evil. The battle became "us versus them" -- believers versus Satan and his demons. Not the believer resisting sin and evil in his own life. Nope. It became an external battle. And it consumed the precious time and energy of saints, who rather than walking boldly into Athens to share the Gospel of Salvation on Mars Hill, prayer marched around the outskirts of the city and ranted and railed at powers and principalities (never mind that there is no mention of the Apostle Paul ever doing this).

The more wailing and railing against demonic powers, the more Dominion could be had. The IHOP movement was formed with this belief, combining prayer warfare with an extreme worship style. The Kansas City group wrote in Fall of 1989 that "we believe that this holy, believing, persevering prayer is our most important job as we seek to cooperate with the Lord in bringing His Kingdom forth.... the saints have been asking the Lord to release a House of Prayer where intercessory prayer and anointed worship can ascend to God's throne 24 hours of every day."[6] In the case of the Kansas City group, this worship/warfare prayer mix became a consciousness-altering activity which produced intoxicating spiritual experiences.[7] Other groups all over the country began to copy this style, facilitated by C. Peter Wagner and his widespread advocacy and marketing of this agenda.

One of the most obvious Dominionist agendas of the prayer movement was the idea of "claiming territories" for God. C. Peter Wagner expanded upon this idea when he assigned territories and "spheres" to his apostles in his New Apostolic Reformation. Prayer warfare by marching through regions and areas became a way to spiritually practice real Dominionism. This then led to "geographical" claims that there were mountains, portals and other specific areas of the earth that needed to be mapped out, marched upon, prayed over, decreed about, and cleansed and rid of demonic elements before Dominion could be established.[8]

The mission movement also adopted prayer as a way to facilitate rapid global expansion. This movement was so extensive that it belies description. But it all tied back to the same basic components of massive prayer efforts to achieve the "kingdom" on earth. C. Peter Wagner was working on sociological Church Growth concepts at Fuller Seminary when he first encountered John Wimber. For the next several decades Wagner published a multitude of books about how hyper-spiritual activities could be a way to facilitate and maximize marketing strategies for church growth. Dr. Orrel Steinkamp explains Wagner's core teachings:

Church Growth ideas became the catalyst for the technique-driven methodologies of seeker sensitive churches employing marketing and managerial paradigms so popular in the mega church movement. In turn, Wagner took the pragmatic concepts of church growth thinking a step further and applied them to the spirit world. He took the same pragmatic perception but removed the battle from earth to the heavenlies in what he calls Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare (SLSW), his name for battling territorial spirits. Unknowingly, borrowing from Latter Rain concepts, he saw church growth as dependent on defeating territorial spiritual rulers. The way to make a church grow is not primarily appealing to the felt needs of the people but rather in devising a pragmatic strategy to defeat territorial spirit powers. If these entities can be destroyed or neutralized, the church growth we all desire will be assured. In fact, old fashioned preaching will hardly be necessary once the hindering spirits have been vanquished. Rather than doing market surveys (a la George Barna), church growth, for Wagner, depends on mapping the spirit world, discovering what territorial spirits are in charge of any given locality and then devising spiritual technologies and practices which will render them ineffective in keeping people groups from responding to the Gospel. Spiritual warfare then is pursued as the first step of any evangelistic endeavor and the precursor to the great harvest that Church Growth has always promised.

The technique driven mentality of Church Growth principles, whether in the current marketing paradigm or Wagner's spiritual warfare techniques, both put the focus on man instead of God. If you find the right marketing technique, then you can make your church grow. Likewise if you prophetically can learn the territorial spirit's name and if you organize a prayer walk, you can grow a large church. Notice how the focus is no longer on God and the power of God's Spirit and the preaching of the Gospel, but rather on the brave new pragmatist who knows how to make it happen. God seems to be relegated to an interested cheerleader on the sidelines applauding the implementation of the game plan organized in the mega church conference rooms or in the spiritual Pentagon and war room in the World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs....

Spiritual warfare evangelism coupled with another Latter Rain theme of restored Apostles and Prophets is, in Wagner's view, reforming the global church for the new millennium...." [9]

Current Warfare Evangelism relies on these same two warfare principles - specific intelligence of the spirit world and new spiritual methodologies which purport to neutralize or destroy enemies in the spirit world. All of this is designed to ensure victory in evangelism and to establish God's Kingdom upon the earth.[10]

Dr. Steinkamp lists a few of the prayer warfare "technologies" in Wagner's Dominionist arsenal:

Obviously, none of these activities listed above -- and there are many, many more that could be mentioned -- have anything to do with actual Gospel of Salvation evangelism. The focus of Dominionism is to change the world, not the inner man. Dr. Steinkamp concludes:

Pragmatically speaking, one of the dangers of SLSW is that it will deplete the energies of Christians. After all the prayer walks, marches, expeditions and stake driving ad nauseam, the Christian community will hardly have the energy to slog it out in preaching and teaching the Gospel, which Paul said was "the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:19) and which Hebrews 12: 4 states is "sharper than any two edged sword."[12]

Prayer as COVER for COVERT agendas

Wagner has had a profound influence on the entire global agenda for prayer, which underwent a massive shift from individual and humble intercession to mass-marketed prayer blitzes and extravaganzas. This agenda implies that God cannot or will not hear unless there are huge outcries, mass rallies, frenzied corporate worship, 24/7 round-the-clock intercession, and scripted calls for Dominion. These massive prayer rallies bear a striking resemblance to mass political rallies, which may be intentional.

In 2005, this momentum for global prayer culminated in the first Global Day of Prayer, a huge "global teleconference" that "allows people worldwide to unite in simultaneous prayer." The agenda of this movement was to "Continue to pray and contend for the kingdom of God to be release [sic] & revealed ‘on earth as it is in heaven,'" (note how this phrase in the Lord's Prayer is consistently mis-applied in a Dominionist context). The scripted prayers called for a "kingdom" and "restoration" agenda. The idea behind this event was said to be, "Building a canopy of prayer over all the continents" so that "the glory of the Lord [can] fill the whole earth" to "hasten His coming" and for "Christ's kingdom to change the way cities and nations are governed."[13]

Many of the same groups and individuals now endorsing, sponsoring and supporting Governor Rick Perry's The Response prayer rally were also behind last year's May Day event at the Lincoln Memorial. That event was strikingly similar in its calls for political change, its New Apostolic Reformation leadership, and the Christian Right political activist groups backing the event.[14]

Barely scratch the surface and start looking into the people lending their name to The Response prayer event. It doesn't take much digging before this all begins to take on some really strange manifestations. John Benefiel, for example, who with Cindy Jacobs is laying spiritual "seige" to Washington, D.C.[15] Benefiel's Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (HAPN) is involved in all sorts of curious things, including a recent "Declaration of Covenant this July 4, 2011" where they "divorced Baal" on behalf of America:

“new pilgrims” stood with the Lord to reset our nation according to our apostolic foundations. We affirmed that the land and government is committed by covenant for “the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.” We repented for breaches of covenant. And we again asked the Lord for His hand in marriage....

Journey Through 17 StatesOur time at the Lincoln Memorial culminated a journey that began 11 days before, when our three teams began their respective journeys towards Gettysburg and Washington DC. Together we touched 17 states with an assignment to pray through historic wells of awakening and Civil War battlefields, believing God for a historic move of Holy Spirit awakening and union. This is pictured in Ezekiel 37, where the prophet stands on a barren battlefield and calls for God’s awakening winds. An “exceeding great army” emerges!....

On Saturday, July 2, our teams and group gathered on the actual battlefield. We chose the High Water Mark, the “breakthrough point” that turned the tide of the battle. On this small hill that bore witness to the most bloodshed in Civil War history, we divorced Baal.[16]

Cindy Jacobs has been behind all sorts of prayer journeys across major highways in America, including a "Root 52" (Route 52) journey across the state of Kansas in September 2010. This journey was apparently connected with the IHOP movement, and also was influenced by C. Peter Wagner's lieutenants Dutch Sheets and Chuck Pierce. This journey included such outlandish activities as setting occult "ley lines," dropping plumblines, shooting arrows, ascribing prophetic significance to various "signs," pouring oil over all sorts of things, and planting olive trees so that "Kansas is rooted covenantally with Israel." The journey was described as:

A call from regional leadership was given to Kansas for repentance from division and offense in order to walk together in love and unity. There was also identificational repentance led by regional and Kansas leadership concerning the 7 mountains of our culture. God is knitting together the bones and sinews of an exceedingly great army in both Israel and Kansas and our nation. He is calling us to arise together into a force of "ONE" great army of the Lord....[17]

And this is precisely the point. This group of prayer warriors also thinks they are Joel's Army, taking up an endtime battle to restore the earth to Christ so that he can return with "his kingdom" which they will govern. Why this unbiblical agenda has become part of American patriotism and enmeshed with concern over immorality in our nation is the question of the hour. Obviously, these prayer events in combination with frenzied political action are replacing the Gospel of Salvation, which alone has the power to minister life and healing to people who live in sinful lifestyles.

Furthermore, one can read through the reports cited in footnote 16 and 17 above and search hard to find any mention of the Gospel of Salvation, the cross of Jesus Christ and His shed blood for our sins, and the necessity of repentance. Oh, there's a lot of Bible verses -- most of them taken wildly out of context and misapplied in some odd ways. But who got saved along these journeys? Anyone? Perhaps this indicates that these prayer routes were not intended to bring converts, but rather establish governing rights for their "kingdom" here in America. A terrible thought.

So why is a Texas governor, who is seriously considering a run for president, hanging out with these amazingly bizarre, self-anointed, self-appointed, false apostles and prophets who want to rule the world?

The Truth:

Extensive, public, long and drawn out, showy prayers was what Jesus condemned in the Pharisees. And the "kingdom of heaven" has to do with salvation, not a literal physical kingdom to build here on earth. Jesus said:

"But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves] neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation." (Matthew 23:13)

The IHOP (International House of Prayer) movement is now front and center stage as a national controversy continues to swirl around Texas Governor Rick Perry and his upcoming prayer rally The Response featuring prominent IHOP and NAR leaders as "endorsers." The national media is scrambling to catch up with the significance of this event, and a few reporters are bungling it badly.[2]

In the meantime, The Response showed no signs of faltering, as James and Shirley Dobson, Max Lucado and Maine Governor Paul LePage added their weight to a new promo webpage for the event, "What Others are Saying." This quasi-political prayer event continues to be controversial because of the potential political ambitions of Gov. Perry who, according to one reporter, "may be counting on apostles and prophets to help propel him to the White House."[3] This same article recounts the attempts by the NAR and IHOP movements to bridge racial divides:

[Alice] Patterson's aim, as she makes clear in her book [Bridging the Racial and Political Divide: How Godly Politics Can Transform a Nation], is getting black and brown evangelicals to vote Republican and support conservative causes. A major emphasis among the New Apostles is racial reconciliation and recruitment of minorities and women. The apostolic prayer networks often perform elaborate ceremonies in which participants dress up in historical garb and repent for racial sins.

The formula—overcoming racism to achieve multiracial fundamentalism—has caught on in the apostolic movement. Some term the approach the “Rainbow Right,” and in fact The Response has a high quotient of African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans in leadership positions.

Lou Engle, for example, is making a big push to recruit black activists into the anti-abortion ranks. “We’re looking for the new breed of black prophets to arise and forgive us our baggage,” he said at Trinity Assemblies of God, “and then lead us out of victimization and into the healing of a nation, to stop the shedding of innocent blood.”[4]

What do these self-proclaimed apostles and prophets of IHOP and NAR mean when they talk about race and abortion? Do they mean what YOU think they mean? They have a long history of double-speak. You might think they are against abortion, for Israel, and against racism. But are they really? This group is noted for their clever use of language and unique terminology, especially the concoction of new doctrines. Note the terminology in the quotation above: "new breed." And note the reference to "ceremonies" which supposedly repent of "racial sins." These ceremonies are based on a Dominionist teaching called "Identificational Repentance" which puts more focus on ethnicity than language, a strange practice if one is concerned about spreading the Gospel.

From their inception these self-proclaimed prophets have articulated what they mean by these terminologies. They claim that they got their teachings from "God." And what they actually believe should give any American truly concerned about race relations, the right to life, pro-Israel and freedom of religion pause for sober concern. Their agenda may be totally different than what appears on the surface. Like any cult, they may seem sincere. But they also have scary ambitions, which are both political and religious, and they fall far outside the American mainstream. And they intend to use the current young generation, what they call the "New Breed," to achieve their political aims.

What follows are a series of quotations and excerpts from old Discernment Ministries newsletters. Discernment Ministries began publishing newsletters in May of 1990, chronicling the rise of the Kansas City group in particular.[5] The most important pieces of documentation are the graphic image exhibits that were common during the era when the Kansas City group merged with the Vineyard.

Exhibit A at the top of this post is a poster that was for sale from Kansas City Fellowship two decades ago which depicts the "manchild" -- a fair-skinned baby who represents the "New Breed" becoming "god-man."

Exhibit B, the military knight in armor holding a blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby, represents the "New Breed" that is to become "Joel's Army."[6]

THE NEW BREED:

"The children are the best of all the generations that have ever been upon the face of the earth. . . those ELECTED SEEDS that will glorify Christ in the last days. .. they will move into things of the supernatural that no one has ever been in the Bible - They'll move in it consistently. . . they themselves will be that generation that's raised up to put death itself underneath their feet. . . . a church that has reached the full maturity of the god-man!" (Transcripts, Kansas City Fellowship, 1988 Interview Bob Jones with Mike Bickle).[7]

ABORTION and the NEW BREED:

"...every time God ever planned to do anything, the devil would get wind of it and he'd go out there and try to head if off. . . when he knew how Moses was coming, what did he do to stop him. . .. he killed all the babies. What did he do when he figured that Jesus was going to be born at a certain time? He released a decree through the wicked ruler to kill all the babies. Don't you see? And what's he doing now? There's mass mutilation and murder of thousands and millions of unborn babies. Abortions on every hand. So, you must know something's coming up greater than Moses, greater than. . . even in Jesus’ day, because the Devil is trying to kill off the NEW BREED, he's trying to kill off the Bride of Christ and he's trying to kill the whole thing off, but the Lord has well planted this seed of the New Bride and the New Breed. . . . He's about to open the womb and He's about to give birth to this NEW THING. . . . when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us we beheld the glories of the only begotten of the Father and when YOU begin to become that Word I want you to know the world will behold the glory of the Father and that's what we're waiting to see. . . I want you to know that we're going to have some channeling one of these days, but it's going to be channeled right out of the throne room of heaven." (Paul Cain, speaking at the Vineyard Prophetic Conference in 1989)[8]

A NEW SUPER RACE:

"Praise God, our Creator has a plan to restore order to His creation. Two thousand years ago He raised up a "fourth race" of man, descended from the Second Adam, Jesus Christ. This fourth race is a true super race which will fulfill God's divine purpose to bring righteousness to earth. That super race was created to rule over every nation, every tongue, and every people on this planet. This fourth race... transcends the human body and time itself! God ordained that this earth be conquered and ruled by a super race of spiritual beings who are united by a single scarlet thread - the blood of Christ! God's super race of man in our generation!" (Turnel Nelson, Destiny Image Digest)[9]

ABORTING the RIGHTEOUS SEED:

"God's expressed intention of using the Seed of the woman to crush the head of satan (Gen. 3:15) clarifies His divine hope of generations... Satan's purpose is to steal, to kill and to destroy our children. He is especially targeting the righteous seed. He is afraid that a godly generation will rise up to crush his head."(Dr. Patricia Morgan, Destiny Image Digest)[10]

NEW ORDER TRANSFORMATION:

"....the Gospel of the Kingdom is not just the Word, it is the Word and power... until we get millions of Christians to have that incarnate Word come to them and them be the Incarnate Word... that's the only way we're going to see a nation turn to the Lord in a day.... God's strange act is going to bring a New Order of things and bring a NEW BREED in and bring a transformation.... The nations will come to your light… you’re going to be the LIGHT OF DAY and the LIGHT OF LIFE. Capital L-I-G-H- T, Capital L-I-F-E. You're going to be the Light of LIFE, just as Jesus stood on the Mount of Transfiguration and went through that Chrysalis Metamorphosis Stage and they saw Him shine - His raiment did shine - His whole being did shine brighter than the noon day sun and God's going to have a whole company - a whole group of people that are going to be like that... Things are about to change... and when God begins to move in these last days, He's going to shake the chains loose and there's going to be a chain-reaction and people will die.... I tell you, God is going to have His army and they're going to be a fearful bunch and they're going to go into everyplace on the face of the earth...."(Paul Cain, KC "prophet" speaking at the Anaheim Vineyard "School For Prophecy)[11]

JOEL'S ARMY:

"There will be a special anointing released for mobilizing the army of the Lord.... There will be an impartation of strategic vision... to boldly march against the greatest strongholds of our time... This army of which Joel speaks is about to be revealed.... They will take cities. They will burst through the enemy's strongholds and take houses (families). The very heavens and the earth are about to shake because of this great army... the time has come.”(Rick Joyner, advertising a conference)[12]

MIKE BICKLE'S NEW BREED:

"It now appears that God is raising up a New Breed of leadership to do the 'new thing'. This NEW BREED will be young and fresh, with a pioneering spirit - whether chronologically young or old in age. Last year I had the opportunity to meet several young men whom I believe represents this NEW BREED of leadership...We invite you to learn more about Mike Bickle, a part of God’s NEW BREED for the 90’s.”[13]

Teachings about a New Order,[14] a New Breed, and a superior Race, are not new. They are actually very old. Combined they are very potent, and very disturbing. Discernment Ministries warned back in 1990, as the Kansas City movement began to rise in prominence with its association with Vineyard which spread these teachings throughout the evangelical world, that

This NEW BREED mentality is one of the most dangerous and divisive doctrines facing the Church. It threatens existing denominations and churches across the nation. Pastors, brace yourselves to face growing confusion as a result!

Again, it needs to be emphasized that this NEW BREED doctrine is the kernel thought that undergirds most of the known cults. Hitler, in the name of God was religiously obsessed with the idea of a NEW BREED of people, a PURE RACE, a NEW GENERATION and A NEW ORDER. Books and publications have attributed the rise of the Third Reich to the spirit of occultism. Many of the great theologians in Germany at that time gave Hitler's "pure race" ideology theological cohesiveness. Amazingly we are now seeing history repeat itself. However the modern "prophets" interpret their NEW BREED of religion, the fact remains it is the same seed thought (elitism) that gave rise to Hitler's THIRD REICH that plagued Germany and the world. It was this spirit of "elitism" that led to anti-Semitism. Nazism, the New Age Movement and the NEW BREED are one and the same: they are merely different manifestations of the same evil seed - "elitism".

The NEW BREED spirit in Hitler's day permeated the churches in Germany. One of the first things the NEW BREEDERS sought to do in support of their "elitist" race was to unite all the churches in Germany. With this NEW WAVE of "elitism" once again flooding the Church, it comes as no surprise to hear the apostate Church speaking of UNITING all the churches at the expense of SOUND DOCTRINE.[15]

Furthermore, Discernment Ministries warned back in 1990 about the rise of this "New Order" and explained in the November 1990 Discernment Newsletter that "THE NEW ORDER that is arising is, among other things, a REPLACEMENT for the Nation of Israel."[16]

So what is the NAR/IHOP political action alliance agenda? Do we really know? We see the public facade, the Tea Party political rhetoric. But do Americans really understand the depths of bizarre occult ideas that lie barely beneath the surface -- the fervent military heresies that are so powerful and seductive, engaging youth and political activists with the cause to fulfill their calling as a New Breed race, becoming a Joel's Army marching in lockstep, to build a New Order Kingdom on earth?

The Truth:

These prophecies in the quotes above were said to come from God. But it should be noted that they expressly contradict God's Word, the Bible. So which "God" is driving this movement? In June 1990, warning about the rise of this "New Breed" heresy, Travers and Jewel van der Merwe, writing for the Discernment Newsletter explained the biblical truth:

The whole NEW BREED concept is totally unscriptural. The only way they can attempt to prove their false doctrine is to twist, misquote or allegorize the Scriptures. According to the "prophets" all believers are not a part of the NEW BREED because it is reserved for a special quality of Christian in the last days. But Praise God, the Bible refutes this fallacy. On the contrary, it gives all believers the following assurance:

1. All believers are equal in Christ. Galatians 3:28.2. All believers are new creatures. II Corinthians 5:17.3. All believers are made righteous by faith, that is of grace. Romans 4:16.4. All believers are of the seed of Abraham. Romans 4:16.5. All believers were baptized into one body. I Corinthians 12:13.6. All believers are members of the body of Christ. I Corinthians 12:14.7. All believers are part of the ELECT. I Peter 1:2.8. All believers are a CHOSEN GENERATION. I Peter 2:1, 2.9. All believers are "born again." John 3:3, 15.10. All believers are lively stones and a holy priesthood. I Peter 2:5.

The word BREED is not found once in Scripture, much less the term A NEW BREED.[17]